10 things that make a Catholic homeschool day a good one

I enjoyed Karen's and Theresa's posts on what makes a "good day of learning" very much...

I too have been thinking about posting thoughts about school. Or homeschool. The joys of it. This time of the year, it invariably hits: the need to reassess, to plan for next year.

So, I work on a list of 10 items that, for me, would (ideally) make a Catholic homeschool day is a good one:

1. daily Mass
2. we do Religion (Faith & Life) read-aloud, followed by some discussion
3. most problems are done correctly in Math, grammar is a breeze, and writing happens with no prompting
4. during History read-aloud, when I invariably nod off a bit, the kids are so interested they keep going-- and then tell me all about it
5. sunshine and warmth to be outside for a bit-- especially if doing some photography or sketching
6. all around positive attitude, and we have most of the day at home
7. there is at least one "aha" expressions of excitement for a new thing learned
8. dad plays good music on the stereo after dinner, or reads from a good book
9. there is family laughter and conversation as part of night prayers' intentions
10. when we say goodnight, there is a good dose of "tomorrow we will..."

To assess and plan for next year, I ponder on this list: how many of these items I have most days? How many I don't? Of the ones I don't, can they be improved on?

(Or: were we to send them all to school, how many of these items we could retain?)

If you'd like to, work on your own time-to-reassess 10-items list!

(The photos of our yet-to leave-for-college children were taken sometime this past year.)